Tuesday, July 22, 2008

The ever-hysterical George Conger reports that "The American Church’s experiments with gay blessings and bishops had led to the deaths of Sudanese Christians." Several other right-wing sources have picked up on that meme. I don't know who picked up on that bit of propaganda, but Hysterical George is not alone.

Want to hear the truth?

In the first place, in his interview today at Lambeth, Archbishop Daniel claims there are no gay/lesbian persons in the whole country of Sudan. Then he backed off that statement and declared he has not heard of any gay/lesbian persons.

Gosh! Ya think???

I'm sure that I'd be ready to jump up and say "I'm gay!" if I were in Sudan. NOT!

In the few years that my diocese has been in "covenant" with a Sudanese diocese, we have never heard of a death caused by the Anglican Communion's stance (or lack of a stance) on gay relationships.

Archbishop Daniel is blowing smoke out of his ass. He is a liar and a scapegoater.

Let me tell you what has cost the lives of people in the Diocese of Lui within Sudan. It was civil war for the past 50 years. The Sudanese from the north (most of whom were Muslin) tried to wipe out the Africans in the south. After the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed, the bloodshed has been among warring tribes in the South. Dinka tribes have swooped in and murdered Moru people in the Diocese of Lui. They came with their knives and murdered people in their homes. They burned the Moru schools. They burned villages. They burned individual homes. They murdered hundreds of people. They beheaded adults in front of their children. I heard the stories. I saw the burned-out remains. They were and are horrific. It was hideous and horrendous, and I saw the evidence when I was in southern Sudan. I saw the burned-out homes and villages. I held the orphans.

And guess what? None of those murdering, rampaging idiots were wearing pink triangles and claiming to be part of the Queer Nation.

Who has caused death and destruction in Sudan? Other tribes within Sudan.

They are murdering each other over tribal relationships, and not a bit of it has to do with queers or the Anglican Communion or one gay bishop. For the Archbishop of Sudan to try to lay this crap at the feet of Gene Robinson or The Episcopal Church is the smarmiest, most cowardly, lying thing I have heard in a very long time.

When he was here with us in Missouri, Archbishop Daniel claimed that one of his highest priorities was bringing peace among the tribes of Sudan who have decimated each other. Face-to-face with us, he acknowledged that tribal rivalries and warfare was one of his greatest concerns.

But now, given a global microphone, he is trying to pretend it is all because of the queers. What a lying ideologue!

Who bought him off?

Yeah, let's blame it on the queers – not on the tribes of Sudan who are murdering each other for no good reason.

I am sick and tired of being the scapegoat!

Q: Who's murdering the Sudanese?

A: Other Sudanese!

And it has absolutely nothing to do with The Episcopal Church or the bishop of New Hampshire. Shame on Archbishop Daniel for trying to grab his 15 minutes of fame with this clap-trap!

I see now that my "Who bought him off?" sounds like I'm talking about money. But I don't believe that. I do believe he's under tremendous pressure from some people, but I really don't think it's about money.

I don't think the suggestion was that gays are killing Sudanese Christians. That's what +Oromobi said, and shame on him for it, but it's now what +Daniel has said. I think the point is that the Church has developed a reputation for being pro-homosexuality in an area where the culture is violently opposed to homosexuality, viewing it as an evil. Thus, the church is now viewed by some of the more radical Muslims as tied to an evil, and so has come under attack, causing some deaths. Its effectiveness is limited, keeping it from preventing other deaths. I have not been to Sudan like you, but I have met another of its bishops, who managed to share this view in a very gentle way.

I live in New Hampshire and am extremely pro +Gene. I love the man; he is my leader and my teacher. I would be heartbroken if he resigned. I believe Archbishop Daniel was incredibly wrong to call for his resignation and to imply that gays are not people. It's ridiculous to suggest there are no gays in Sudan. And as I wrote about on my own blog, his Adam and Steve theology is incredibly unsound.

However, I think the above analysis of Sudan and homosexuality is correct. The culture Archbishop Daniel is presented with does view homosexuality as evil, and it becomes very hard for a church that is aligned with an inclusive view to operate. The question we have to ask is, is it worth it? I believe it is. So do you. But raising the issue from a conservative perspective that neither you nor I hold is hardly the same thing as saying "Gays are killing Christians!" Thus, while I also criticize Archbishop Daniel, it is not for quite the same reasons.

Nathan & Merseymike, I'll try to be a bit more clear. Archbishop Daniel and many other African bishops are trying to blame the killings on Americans. They are trying to spin the story as "Muslims are killing us because we are associated with 'the gay church.'" You want to believe that? Then you must believe that the Muslims were having potluck dinners and being all lovey-dovey until that day in November 2003 when Gene Robinson was consecrated. And that's clearly a crock. Muslims have been murdering Christians in southern Sudan for a very long time. Now they just have a new excuse.

And when +Daniel tries to lay this at the feet of TEC, he's complicit in the lies of the Muslims.

Does he really believe that if Gene resigned [Perish the thought!] then the Muslims and Christians in southern Sudan would have a love-in? ROTFLMAO!

He's looking for a scapegoat, and he thinks he has found one in the Episcopal Church in the U.S. How very handy for him and his African buddies.

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About Me

I'm a progressive Episcopalian raised in the South and now (thanks to a job change) living in the conservative Midwest. I worship at Grace Episcopal Church in Jefferson City. I love the Episcopal Church, which rescued me from a life of wandering meaningless and gave me a way to explore my faith and belief in God.
On any given topic, I am prone to yammer-on way too long. Sometimes I ponder way more than I should.
A blog-friend said that I demonstrate a "muscled love for our Church." I hope I can live up to that.
And right now I'm pondering Blogger's challenge to define myself in 1200 characters.